Ok, let me get this off my chest first and foremost. I'm an idiot because I keep thinking I'm going to play fretless. Truth of the matter is, I
once was pretty good at it, like 12 years ago, but today I just don't seem to have it in me anymore.
So I decided to sell the fretless, even though this one is a great sounding and great playing bass. Whenever I pick it up, I just doodle around and realize how much I suck at it.
It's a 2003 model (I didn't even know they were out back then)
S/N is RBA 009716-03
Colour is transparent blue (Ocean blue?)
Body is Alder
neck is 3-piece maple
(The neck is not really on the chunky side for a 5-string. It is very similar to my Stingray 4 neck. Comfortable to play because it isn't wide.)
Fingerboard is tigerstripe ebony (looks real cool)
Active MEC JJ pickups
Active 2-band preamp
Neck is 1-3/4" at nut, 2-7/16" at 24th fret marker
according to my bathroom scale, it weighs 7.5 lbs (very light!!)
Being an older model, it doesn't have a Just-A-Nut, just a standard fixed nut.
Also, the control cavity and truss rod cover have screws, not a tool-less cover like the newer models.
How does it sound?
This is probably the best sounding made in China bass I have ever heard. The pickups are active singles, noiseless. Not sure what brand preamp it has in it, but be sure that it delivers. I found absolutely no reason to change it. When you boost the bass, it definitely boosts. Not like many of the "inexpensive" basses made in the orient that I have played, where the bass boosted at 100% sounds like "0" detent...
Using both pickups or the neck pickup solo, I keep the bass pot at "0" (center detent). Using the bridge pickup, I boost it maybe 1/3 of the way up. Other wise, my preamp would be overloaded and clip. I keep the treble either at center detent or cut 1/2 the way down for a sweet, warm sound.
The bridge pickup has a sweet, tight growl to it, I favor this pickup most of the time.
Both pickups together give a big, open sound. The neck pickup gives your average Jazz-esque tone.
All combinations sound good, but I like the bridge pickup solo the best.
Pics:
lit by natural sunlight, check out that BLUE!!!!
check out that fingerboard!
preamp cavity; this bass is put together VERY well:
Here's what I did with it:
It came with a narrower-than-I-like 2.5" string spacing. I bought a new bridge that looks very similar to the original
save for the Warwick logo and the fact that it has a easier to play 2-13/16" string spacing. The neck is wide enough to accept this string spacing, as the B and G strings are still 1/8" away from the fingerboard edge at their widest. I have no problems whatsoever, the strings NEVER come over the edge.
Here are pics of the new bridge installed:
old bridge next to new one for comparison (
EDIT, the old bridge is no longer around. I filled the old screwholes with wood becasuse I didn't want there to be 12 holes all right next to each other. Trust me, this bridge mod is for the better):
Here is a pic of the neck with new string spacing:
You can see the marks fro the round-wounds on the fingerboard from the old string spacing and compare them to where the strings are now.
Getting to the fingerboard, I looked closely at it, and there don't seem to be any new marks under the strings where they are now after 4 months of me playing with the new bridge. This ebony fingerboard is probably very hard and doesn't mark up easily.
The body is in pristine condition, no dents or chips in it anywhere. THe neck has a couple of very superficial marks in it between the 3rd & 5th fret. You can feel them but they aren't deep. I was thinking about sanding that section of the neck slightly to minimize their topography. But they don't hinder playability at all.
The bass has a
slight neck dive to it, but nothing major. I currently have a nylon strap on it, and id it hold it up at an angle and let go, it'll slowly drop down to horizontal and stay there. It will
not drop the neck down to the floor (like a Thunderbird...)
If you use a strap that isn't as "slippery" as nylon (like a leather/suede strap), the bass won't move and it is light enough that it won't dive and take your shirt with it...
I give this bass a 7 out of 10. It is 6 years old...
The neck is straight and very stable, truss rod works 100%
$350 shipped CONUS.
Comes with a HEAVILY padded Warwick Rock Bag. This bag is so nice, I'd like to keep it....but it comes with the bass.
For Canadian, PM me and we can work out a shipping deal.
I don't have any sound clips of it, mostly because I'm ashamed of how I play fretless. But I might be able to conjure something up if there is a demand.
I'll try and take more pics of it and the gig bag tonight.
EDIT:
forgot to mention that it has a new set of EB slinkies on it. .045, .065, .080, .100, .130
